A Stranger I Remain
by RevanBodyguard
Summary: Lies hold Noctis' world together. They keep his dark past out and his new life stable, but internal and external forces from his past are looking to undo it all and unravel all he's kept hidden. A FFXV/FFXIII/FFVII crossover AU story which contains Lightisroth (Noctis/Lightning/Sephiroth) and other genres/characters that can't be added here.
1. Darkly Dreaming

**AN: **This has been my spur of the moment fanfic that suddenly came to me the last week of my winter break. Now I'm at school again, haha. I haven't written anything in a year, blame my writer's block, but then again, I did have to re-edit BttT because of FFXV's recent trailer and information that has finally came, along with unnamed characters. So... It'll be a while before I'll ever upload that next chapter, but it has been there. In fact, most of my work that I have yet to publish here have been sitting on my laptop for a long time... Anyway, hope you enjoy this.

* * *

**Chapter One: ****Darkly Dreaming**

_This town is infested with life. Opening fire upon these people could cleanse some of the dirty and insignificant souls here… _

_It'll only be a mercy to dispose them, much more than they deserve._

_A pair of children doubling and tripping over each other as they fled – the oldest one shielding the younger by with his own body… And the hot steel sliced through them both easily._

_A young girl's wretched sobs as she grieved over her mother's freshly made corpse…_

_Bodies lying still as their lives ebbed away, their eyes glazing over…_

_A man torn into ribbons before his family's eyes…_

_Fires set on the plains. The fires that still burn no matter how long your eyelids were shut to block it all._

_A spectator and yet a participant of the boundless morbid imaginations of a mad man…_

_Guttural screams that echoed for miles and leaves an incessant ringing that reaches the back of your mind._

_Everything stood on standstill. _

_Stop._

_STOP._

_STOP THIS!_

"Sir, wake up. This is the last stop."

The sleeping prince awoke to the touch of an elderly conductor and as his eyes stared the older man down, his grip on the hilt of his beloved sword loosened to feign a stifled yawn and gave a sheepish smile to assuage for nearly unsheathing his weapon from under his cloak. _Just a dream_, he mentally reminded himself. "So it is," he responded aloud with a quick glance outside the window and to the conductor still remaining, "I could stay on this train with you the whole ride back if you insist on standing there…"

The conductor stepped aside with a scowl, choosing not to make any further delays with this obnoxious passenger with a special case for his boarding passage and continued to make his rounds in the nearly empty compartments.

The awakened passenger grunted, re-adjusting his hood over dark spikey locks as he took the exit off the train. His blue eyes met with a sudden glare of sunlight marking his arrival to be exactly noon as planned, his content sigh for a new beginning as he momentarily basked in the warmth of light unlike anything he had in his former country. He barely had much in his possession on his person and even if he did, there wouldn't have been enough time to take them when the necessities should only be considered for a hasty destination in mind, especially to an unfamiliar area. Possessions weigh you down anyway. He took in solace of his attire and the masses of citizens and foreigners passing him by to continue their journeys onward or to reunite with loved ones. Speaking of loved ones…

_He said he was going to be waiting here for me. I can't imagine him tardy for once._

"Nocty!"

Before he could brace himself, he found himself taken by surprise and nearly tackled by his taller childhood friend. The man grinned and returned the embrace with earnest longing and a hearty pat on the back, it has been three years since the two have last met and a month since they have heard each other's voices.

The new foreigner broke the contact first after a moment but the other man was quick to clasp his hands between his own. "Ignis, I thought we've talked about the 'Nocty' thing. We're not kids anymore."

"Old habits die hard, my prince," the other man shamelessly confessed with no apology in his tone. "You're still my best friend that had addressed me as 'Iggy' and I to you 'Nocty'; time doesn't change that so easily, I'm afraid. But I did promise you that it's either Prince Noctis or Noct in your presence." He released his lord's hands to cough into his fist, eying back between Noctis and the ground to make sure he's watching.

"Walk with me." Noctis surveyed the station, not making any eye contact with his recently reunited friend before taking off his cloak to drape over his shoulders. "Were you in a rush to see me that you threw on whatever you had?"

"Actually, I neglected laundry and had to borrow a shirt and a pair of jeans." Ignis fastened the cloak around his shoulders and began keeping pace with his friend's brisk walk. His friend chuckled at the answer, but Ignis continued, "Yes, yes, you've always mentioned how I often neglected myself at times. I take it your journey was uneventful?"

"As uneventful as a fugitive escaping his country can be," Noctis joked darkly, recalling the incredulous stares he's gotten. He spoke in a low tone that only Ignis would hear and Ignis followed suit. "Still, the scenery is a nice touch from home. I can see why you decided to come here to study."

"It truly is a break from the blatant militarism of Niflheim and the dull drum way of life in Lucis… No offense, of course."

"None taken, we may hail from Lucis, but eventually we would have preferred to be as far away from home. You chose to study the science and medical treatment of the psyche," Noctis trailed off quietly, glancing up to Ignis at his side. _Have I selfishly denied him of his career of choice because of my condition and about to deny his future because of me? _"But you could also be marked as a traitor for sheltering a criminal in your home."

"Be thankful nine out of every ten individuals in Luxerion, the Divine City of Light do not pay attention to anything that occurs outside of their sports spectacles and bars," Ignis paused to shove his hands in his pockets and gestured with his chin to the buildings surrounding them. "So long as they stay beneath their umbrella of ignorance and Lucis continues chasing its tail, you're safe and I assure you I'll do all I can to keep it that way. You're not Noctis Lucis Caelum here."

Noctis smirked, recalling a previous hologram call in which Ignis had told him that. "Whose side are you on, my old friend?"

"Isn't it obvious by now?" Ignis returned the expression with his own. "Yours, of course. When I swore my loyalty to the Lucis heir that day, in my heart, I swore if you were not to be a prince any longer I was to follow you no matter what and not with any less respect than royalty." _Well, my chances of ever succeeding as king are pretty slim in my perspective._ Before Noctis could respond, Ignis continued, "Now, don't jest, that's how you lose friends. Come, I have to introduce you to your new home."


	2. Living with the Monsters

**ChapterTwo:**** Living with the Monsters**

Noctis woke up the next morning feeling rejuvenated and for once in a long time, without breaking out in cold sweat. Never a good start to a morning when you still felt drained and your clothes melded with your body. He raised his hand towards the ceiling and lowered it down to run his fingers through his dark tresses, feeling giddy with the newfound freedom he has found. He was free. Free to restart his life and live it however he wished. It'll be a permanent solution.

Can't judge a book by its cover. Ignis' home was quaint and had an accommodating feel to it which apparently was satisfactory to his basic requirements between the time he advanced further into his studies and provided a location where he could commute swiftly between work and home. While Noctis wonders what his friend's salary was to own what he considered to be a cramped nest, it was perfect for a doctor to catch a couple winks and study immensely his research journals, and just around the corner are blocks of cafés for a quick dose of caffeine. The home consists of a shared bathroom, two bedrooms (Ignis insisted against Noctis' reluctance that former prince were to take his bedroom and the doctor could go back and forth to the bedroom to the study), a kitchen adjacent to a cozy, but hardly spacious living space. It would appear to be a sterile and lonely home if you only factor in the few luxury items in furnishings, but Ignis' scattered documents, books, folders, electric devices, and such makes up to show that Ignis spends a considerate amount of time here.

"Whoa, whoa, sleeping on the table again, man? If you're going to sleep, at least take the couch!"

Noctis overhead an unfamiliar male's voice as he entered the adjoining kitchen and living space to find a blonde young and slender man in a white shirt and gray boxers hovering over a slumbering Ignis with a mug full of coffee long gone cold by his head. He was still dressed in the clothes from yesterday. Just what he was doing last night to be absentminded of his needs? Did he need more convincing to retire to bed after the prince did? Noctis swore he heard his friend grumble in his sleep about how he was only closing his eyes for just a moment. The circumstances he puts himself through at times.

Ignis jerked awake, adjusting his crooked pair of glasses and automatically rubbing at the corners of his mouth with the back of his hand. "It can't be helped, my sleeping prince kept me up all night long…" He yawned and stretched, his head turning towards Noctis' direction, the blonde followed his gaze.

"So I assume this is the 'sleeping prince' you always dedicate your sleepless nights to?"

"I'm sorry, I don't think we've met," Noctis gave an uneasy grimace of a smile, taking in the moment to examine closely at the blonde stranger's appearance: his blue eyes, his light freckles, short and unruly hair assuming he just got up from bed. No recognition as far as he knew and it felt just a little awkward to be speaking to another guy in his underwear. He was certain he confirmed that there wasn't anyone home aside from Ignis and himself so the blonde could have possibly been out at night. "Have we met before or…?"

"Hah!" The blonde laughed, "Sorry, man, I've heard so much about you from Ignis that it feels like I've known you for years and Ignis talks about you _all_ the time. Don't worry, this is the first time we've met." He held out his hand. "Name's Prompto. Prompto Argentum. Nice to meet you."

Noctis clasped his hand around his new acquaintance's and shook it. The first person he met in this country that probably knows his history and living in proximity of him. "Likewise." Releasing it, he felt he heard that surname before. "About your last name… I've heard it before."

Ignis waved his hand in the air casually. "That's because that the new surname I passed down for you when I forged your identifications and proof of citizenship in Cocoon. I figured I didn't have to be too creative in using my assistant's name." It sounded frivolous and irrelevant to ask if that new persona means 'Noctis Argentum' is related to Prompto Argentum. Not there's nothing wrong with that, perhaps he's a swell guy to know and such.

"He's your assistant? Since when?"

"Around the time I first arrived to Cocoon. I couldn't be at two places at once given demands of my presence at the hospital and research conducted at home so I needed someone to run errands and he needed a place to stay so we made the arrangement."

Prompto threw his arms behind his head and grinned, "Small price to pay when the landlord is away most of the time. He claims to be on a breakthrough with his research and can get really excitable when he can't stop talking about you. Have to say this has been the happiest than he's been in a long time."

"Don't you have work to do than waste time on idle chatting?" Ignis gave him an apprehending glare, tapping his lithe fingers on the table. "Have you done what I asked?" To which Prompto nodded his head for reason for his midnight runs. (In Prompto's defense, he stayed up to ungodly hours with now aching muscles because he pulled something.) "Then how about you get breakfast ready?"

"Can't," Prompto called out while scouring through the kitchen for food. "There's nothing in the fridge or cupboards. Been empty for a week. We ate takeout, remember?"

Ignis groaned under his breath as he searched for a round cylinder in a cabinet, "Fine, go to the nearest diner and pick something up. And don't go outside dressed like that." He stood up to fill a glass of water and pressed both in Noctis' hands. "Here, take this."

* * *

After some time after Prompto returned with bags of takeout boxes and savoring well-needed cuisine in comfortable silence aside from the blonde inquiring about their relationship until he departed on his own, Noctis found himself staring at the clutter and mess in the kitchen. While the living room and the bathroom, shared by three people now, are the cleanest rooms, the bedroom's slight disorganized state was nothing to the kitchen. The dirty dishes were either a horrifying sight to behold (smell too but Ignis and Prompto so haven't wrinkled a nose at it), stacked every plate, glass, pans, utensil upon each other or an ingenious artistry of how the stacks are yet to collapse. You would think that there weren't any more clean dishes in that room, and it makes Noctis wonder if they just went out to buy more dishes when there aren't any clean ones available.

_Ignis used to be a total clean-freak… What happened over the years?_

"I apologize for the living conditions I put you through, Noctis," Ignis coughed into his fist uncomfortably. "I had told Prompto to do the dishes and at least prepare your room better before your arrival and when he couldn't do it, I haven't found the time myself."

"Beggers can't be choosers." Noctis smiled to assure Ignis that it was all right. He believably lived under worse conditions in the past, from tents in rain or snow to shady inns on his journeys. Ignis' home was snug and imitate in its own charming way, he couldn't possibly complain. Changing the subject, he sipped at his drink, "What were you doing last night?"

Noctis could have sworn he saw Ignis' eyes flash suggestively before answering, but that could be his own imagination. "You."

That raised Noctis' alarm. "Did anything happen? What did—"

Ignis laughed, absorbed in the now empty coffee mug that he just raised to his lips and placed down to fill it with milk before drinking, seemingly unaware that there was no more coffee in there. "No, nothing that you're assuming, my prince. I was just taking precautions, nothing to be bereft lest your safety here would be compromised."

_Then what about when I made you promise me that you'll go to bed? Aren't you compromising your safety as well? _Noctis wanted to ask, noticing how drained Ignis looked as he was eating breakfast and chugging cups of black coffee with a scowl. Instead, he felt guilty. While considering the fact that this was his first day waking up here, he hasn't contributed in any way to help. Ignis Stupeo Scientia was always the one who took Noctis' did and risked everything to bring him here. How could he possibly repay him when he has nothing, but his own life?

"Hey, how about I try finding a job?" To this offer, Ignis raised an eyebrow, but Noctis continued. "This is where I'm going to live for now on so I should earn my keep."

"I'm sure you will find a way to do so," Ignis propped his chin on his arm, joking with a rueful smile. It was entirely up to Noctis to leave whenever he wished after time to recuperate, but it pleased Ignis that he still requested to live here. "You have an exceptionally long debt to me that shows no sign of shrinking after all…" He frowned, massaging the bridge of his nose, "In all honesty, that wouldn't be necessary. You could draw attention to yourself. My career sustains the rent and bills demands, and it's imperative to discipline Prompto to attend to his household duties I assign. He's slacking off." With a weary sigh, he added, "And I've been so... distracted." He paused, taking note of Noctis' determined expression that tells him that something about him certainly didn't change: once Noctis puts his mind to something there's nothing stopping him from taking action. "I suggest not searching for a job for now. Utilize this time to rest from your trip, it's been a stressful transition for you and you get more familiar with the city that way." Biting the inside of his cheek, he surrendered, Noctis usually had things his way – it was in his stubborn nature. "But if you really want to assist us… I suppose you can go to the grocery store and fill up the fridge."

"Just what I was about to suggest," Noctis mentally gave himself a congratulatory pat on the back. The fridge and cabinets would be filled and they can never go hungry. "And not only that, I'll cook dinner tonight." While he's not a chef, he did learn how to cook during his travels and was told that he was decent at it. Now that he's thinking about, he could chip in with the chores, Prompto could get a break and improve his relationship with Ignis better.

"Excellent," Ignis mused, nodding to Noctis' offer. "I'll just get Prompt—" He stopped himself just as he was about to summon his assistant but released that he was out. Getting up from his chair he spoke quietly, "I'll just compile a list for you and give you some directions myself." Over Noctis' laughter at his blunder, he didn't hear Ignis' say that he was going to take a nap until Noctis gets back.

* * *

It didn't take him long to find the grocery store's location but he took the opportunity for a little sightseeing and the later he gets back, the more rest Ignis receives.

Noctis marveled at how charming and surreal Luxerion was compared to Lucis. Ignis had told him briefly about the country and the cities that he had visited. There was even a seaside town close by and a floating capital above. Cocoon contrasts greatly with the bleak wasteland and endless skyscrapers that the Lucis' sovereignty took pride in. Luxerion takes more pride to its gothic architecture and devotion to sacred deities. Here, he felt like a tourist who will be able to cope with his thoughts whereas in his homeland, he would be scrutinized and hated even.

_Enough of that. I'm burning daylight just standing around._


End file.
